Motorola re-enters the tablet market after 6 years with Moto Tab

As some of you might remember, Motorola was the first Android partner to launch a tablet based on Honeycomb, the Android version made for the tablets, back in 2011. It was Motorola’s attempt to take on the increasing popularity of the Apple iPad. Unfortunately, the tablet was a commercial failure. It was followed by Xoom 2 aka Droid Xyboard in the same year and after the Xoom 2 also failed, Motorola silently withdrew from the tablet market.

Now, after six years and two ownership changes, the company is getting back to the tablet market with the new Moto Tab, which was announced earlier today in the Unites States. For now, the Moto Tab will remain exclusive to the US carrier AT&T. Unlike the Xoom and Xoom 2, the Moto Tab is not a premium device, it is budget tablet. With the tablet market in decline all over, Lenovo, which is the current owner of Motorola, is wise to think that nobody is going to spend $400-$500 on an Android tablet.

The Moto Tab sports a 10.1 full HD IPS display and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core processor. It comes with 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot. On the software front, Moto Tab runs on Android 7.1 Nougat and comes with a number of customisations to make it a good entertainment device. The tablet comes with a TV mode, which will allow users to quickly access their favorite shows, movies and content in a single swipe from either the home screen or lock screen, or by tapping the Quick Launch button. Additionally, there is a kids mode, in which the children can only view curated content and approved websites, all controlled from the tablet’s built-in parental tools.

There is a fingerprint sensor as well for security, USB Type-C port and dual-speakers with Dolby Atmos. You will also get a 7000 mAh battery inside, which should give decent backup.

Pricing and availability

According to Lenovo, the Moto Tab will be available beginning November 17 via att.com/mototab or an AT&T store for $15 a month for 20 months with an AT&T Installment plan, or $299.99 with no contract

It will also be offered in optional bundles like ‘Home Assistant Pack’ with an Alexa speaker dock and in a ‘Productivity Pack’ with a keyboard and mouse.